AMC Networks (NASDAQ:AMCX) executives emphasized growing streaming scale, strong free cash flow generation, and ongoing balance sheet work during the company’s fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings call, while also outlining a 2026 outlook that anticipates continued pressure in linear advertising and lower adjusted operating income.
Streaming becomes largest domestic revenue source
CEO Kristin Dolan said 2025 marked “a meaningful inflection point” for the company, noting that streaming became AMC Networks’ largest single source of domestic revenue. The company ended 2025 with 10.4 million streaming subscribers, which CFO Patrick O’Connell said was flat versus the prior quarter and the prior-year period.
Dolan highlighted the company’s targeted streaming approach—focused on specific genres, lower pricing, and “efficient windowing”—and said the services run on unified technology designed to keep costs predictable. She pointed to several product updates during the year:
- All Reality, a targeted unscripted service launched in November and currently available via Amazon Prime Video and Roku, with additional platforms planned.
- Sundance Now, which the company “relaunched” at the Sundance Film Festival as a home for independent film, featuring more than 1,000 hours of programming sourced from RLJE Films and Shudder.
- HIDIVE, which Dolan said has achieved strong growth since AMC Networks acquired it four years ago, driven by anime’s rising popularity and the service’s curation.
- Acorn TV, which she described as having an “active and successful” 2025 and cited upcoming programming including You’re Killing Me starring and executive produced by Brooke Shields, plus additional installments of “An Autumn to Die For” and “Murder Mystery May.”
2025 financial results and segment performance
For full-year 2025, O’Connell reported consolidated revenue of $2.3 billion and consolidated adjusted operating income (AOI) of $412 million, representing an 18% margin. Free cash flow totaled $272 million, which management said exceeded its previously increased forecast.
In domestic operations, revenue declined 5% to $2.0 billion for the year and fell 1% to $515 million in the fourth quarter. Subscription revenue “meaningfully stabilized” in 2025, declining less than 1% for the year and remaining flat in the fourth quarter, according to O’Connell.
Affiliate revenue declined 13% for both the full year and fourth quarter, but O’Connell said linear affiliate headwinds were “almost entirely offset” by streaming growth of 12% for the year, and that fourth-quarter streaming growth of 14% “more than fully offset” linear declines.
Content licensing revenue was $272 million for the year and $75 million for the fourth quarter, which O’Connell said reflected the availability of deliveries. Domestic advertising revenue fell 15% in 2025 and 10% in the fourth quarter, driven by linear ratings declines and lower pricing in the marketplace.
International revenue comparisons were affected by prior-year retroactive advertising adjustments reported by a third party. Excluding those items and certain current-period favorable effects, international revenue decreased 4% for both the year and quarter. On an “apples-to-apples” basis, management said international advertising revenue increased 6% for the year and 4% in the fourth quarter, driven by the UK and Ireland. International segment AOI was $43 million for the year and $7 million in the fourth quarter.
Advertising shifts toward digital, FAST, and AVOD
Chief Commercial Officer Kim Kelleher said the first half of 2025 saw a “huge influx of digital inventory” across the industry, which pressured pricing. She said AMC Networks responded by taking a “streaming-first approach” into the upfront market and began seeing momentum shift in the third quarter, with improvements continuing into the fourth quarter.
Asked about the mix of streaming and FAST advertising, O’Connell said digital advertising was a “meaningful portion” of the business and contributed to fourth-quarter strength, citing scatter and event-driven sponsorships. Kelleher added that the industry is increasingly embracing cross-platform buying and said AMC Networks has activated dynamic ad insertion (DAI) across its digital distribution, making transactions more seamless for advertisers.
Content slate, franchise rights, and RLJ consolidation
Dolan reiterated that content remains central to the strategy and highlighted several programming items. She said the sports docuseries Rise of the 49ers was AMC’s most-watched new original since The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live and drove the biggest day of direct-to-consumer AMC+ sign-ups since the season two premiere of The Walking Dead: Dead City last spring.
She also noted that Dark Winds returns for its fourth season “next week” and was renewed for a fifth season, calling it one of AMC+’s most-watched series. AMC Networks also previewed a new drama, The Audacity, set in Silicon Valley and scheduled to premiere April 12 on AMC and AMC+ after a preview at South by Southwest.
Dolan said AMC Networks launched a partnership with TNA Wrestling, bringing a weekly two-hour block of live television, and said the Thursday night show is attracting younger viewers.
On franchises, Dolan said streaming rights to all 177 episodes of The Walking Dead returned to AMC Networks in less than a year. She noted the original series generated nearly 500 million hours of viewership on Netflix in the last six months of 2025. In response to a question about monetization of those rights, Dolan said the company is already in discussions but was not ready to provide details, adding that management is “very optimistic” about the value and future monetization opportunity.
In the fourth quarter, AMC Networks completed a transaction giving it full ownership of RLJ Entertainment, including Acorn TV, ALLBLK, RLJE Films, and an investment in Agatha Christie Limited. O’Connell said the company acquired Bob Johnson’s 17% stake in RLJ Entertainment for $75 million in cash, describing it as a move that increases operating clarity and simplifies the structure.
Balance sheet actions and 2026 outlook
O’Connell said AMC Networks executed transactions in 2025 that reduced gross debt by nearly $600 million, captured about $140 million in discount, extended most of its revolving credit facility to 2030, and created a 2032 maturity window through new senior secured notes. The company ended 2025 with net debt of about $1.3 billion and a consolidated net leverage ratio of 3.1x, as well as total liquidity of approximately $675 million, including about $500 million in cash and a $175 million undrawn revolver.
AMC Networks also repurchased about 850,000 Class A shares for roughly $7.5 million in the fourth quarter and ended the year with $117 million remaining on its repurchase authorization.
Looking ahead, management guided to 2026 consolidated revenue of about $2.25 billion and consolidated AOI of approximately $350 million, with AOI weighted toward the back half of the year due to delivery cadence, “streaming rate events,” and expense timing. The company expects domestic subscription revenue to be stable as streaming growth offsets linear headwinds, and it projected about $260 million in domestic content licensing revenue.
For advertising, O’Connell said AMC Networks expects linear declines to outpace digital growth, guiding to a low double-digit percentage decrease in domestic advertising revenue in 2026. International segment revenue is expected to be between $290 million and $300 million.
On cash generation, both Dolan and O’Connell said the company expects free cash flow of at least $200 million in 2026. Dolan also noted O’Connell will step down next month to take a role outside the industry.
About AMC Networks (NASDAQ:AMCX)
AMC Networks Inc (NASDAQ: AMCX) is a global entertainment company that specializes in the development, production and distribution of premium content for television and streaming platforms. Headquartered in New York City, the company operates a portfolio of pay television channels in the U.S. and abroad, and offers direct-to-consumer streaming services that feature both original programming and licensed fare. AMC Networks is best known for critically acclaimed series such as “Breaking Bad,” “Mad Men” and “The Walking Dead,” and it continues to invest in new scripted and unscripted content across a range of genres.
The company’s core television networks in the United States include AMC, IFC, Sundance TV and WE tv, while its joint venture with BBC Studios supports BBC America.
